In the past there has been many forms of lid locks that were used on containers which were adapted to be filled with waste material, including radioactive wastes, that required the lid to not only be contained upon the container in a closed position, but in some manner be structured so that a visual inspection could determine whether or not the lid was properly secured and locked in place prior to disposal. One form of such a permanent lid hold down assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,092, dated Feb. 1, 1983.
The present invention differs from the prior lid closure in that prior to its final closing the lock may be reopened for compression and repacking of waste material within the container so as to fully utilize the volume available for such function.